Reliance stance trips Sanjay Nirupam

Former Shiv Sena leader wants to join Congress, but party not keen

The fate of Sanjay Nirupam, former Shiv Sena MP, who was removed from the party recently, is likely to remain uncertain for sometime""all because of his grand standing on the Reliance Infocomm share transfer issue in the Rajya Sabha.

According to senior Congress members, Nirupam has made his willingness to join the Congress more than clear, but has suddenly become "untouchable" for the party since his controversial remarks on the Reliance deal.

"Let us make it very clear, we have no love lost for BJP leader Pramod Mahajan against whom Nirupam had raised certain allegations, but to take him into the party when the two Ambani brothers appear to be nearing a solution to the asset split issue is not the right move for the party. He has become too much of a hot potato," said a senior leader.

In fact senior sources reveal that Nirupam's exit from the Shiv Sena had been plotted as early as last December before the Bihar assembly elections. At that time, Nirupam had wanted to join the Congress to campaign in Bihar. "Senior leaders were very busy at that time and we asked him to wait," added a senior leader.

In fact, senior Congressmen took the time to go through all anti-Congress and anti-Sonia statements made by Nirupam with a fine tooth comb.

"We had to make sure that once he agrees to join the party, we should not be embarrassed with some other statements made by him," said the senior leader.

"Our main aim to take in Nirupam was the fact that he was close to Uddhav Thackeray, and that his desertion would hurt the Sena chief personally," said the leader.

In any case, the remarks on Reliance share transfer, at a time when the party wants to appear neutral or at least distant from the entire fracas appears ill timed.

After months of strategising, Nirupam is being made to cool his heels. Even Ahmad Patel, political secretary to the Congress President Sonia Gandhi, has been avoiding him. This is surprising since it was Patel, who appeared most keen to recruit Nirupam.

Nirupam, meanwhile, has been issuing statements in praise of the Congress president. In such a scenario he does not appear to have much choice.